Beginning A New Life

July 10, 2002|By Tim Collie Staff Writer

TEL AVIV — An unprecedented flight of 360 North American Jews immigrating to Israel landed safely Tuesday, greeted by flag-waving crowds and government dignitaries eager for good news in troubled times.

The good news they sought was the arrival of the largest airlift of American Jews in Israel's 54-year history, coming at a time when Israeli officials say the country's future relies on immigration.

"The war of terror is still with us. But what we are doing here today is the strongest, boldest and most endearing answer to those who want to drive us out of here," said former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was among the dignitaries greeting the group at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. Netanyahu's clout was instrumental in raising $2 million dollars to help finance this flight and future ones like it.

The El Al flight, which embarked from New York City's JFK International Airport on Monday afternoon, was chartered by Nefesh B'Nefesh, a Boca Raton-based organization that is seeking to boost the numbers of American Jews moving to Israel, a process known in Judaism as making aliyah.

"We choose Israel -- we're not running or fleeing economic or political distress," said Rabbi Joshua Fass, the Boca Raton spiritual leader who inspired the flight. "The soul of the Jewish people, their fate and their future are bound to Israel.

"To our friends and our families ... we left behind yesterday, take a look at the mathematicians, the doctors and dentists," Fass told a crowd of several hundred well-wishers who greeted the newcomers. "Take a look at the children today and realize you can do it, too."

Among the passengers -- mostly Americans but also several Canadian families -- were about 40 former Florida residents. They ranged from a former Orlando paramedic who had never been to Israel to several young families and retirees from Palm Beach County.

Of the 360 passengers, 152 were children. About two-thirds were devout modern Orthodox Jews, who typically make up the bulk of Americans immigrating to Israel, Israeli immigration officials said.

"It's unbelievable -- this is the high of my life," said Laura Welch, a nurse moving from Boca Raton with her husband and their four children. "Doing this with just my family would have been incredible. But arriving like this, with all of these people to greet us, it's just so unbelievable."

Language training

Scott Marks, the former paramedic, stood by filming the speeches with an Israeli flag draped over his shoulders. He doesn't speak Hebrew yet and this was his first trip to Israel. Next week, he starts ulpan, the five-month course of intensive language study for new immigrants.

"When I think of Israel, the pictures I had in my mind were from old movies," said Marks, 33. "But this is a modern country. Looking out of the plane coming in, I saw these homes and it looked just like Florida. I just want to get out and look around."

The arrival of these olim, the Hebrew word for immigrants, comes at a crucial time for Israel. Buffeted by almost two years of suicide bomb attacks and costly military operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the country is in a state of siege. More than 500 Israelis have been killed during the Palestinian uprising known as the Intifada. The Oslo peace process begun in 1993 is considered dead, and much of the West Bank has been reoccupied by Israeli troops.

The country's economy is in a severe recession, with forecasts of 15 percent unemployment next year, and Israel is facing heated criticism in much of the world for its military tactics in the occupied territories. Many Israelis, reacting to attacks on synagogues in Europe and elsewhere, fear that anti-Semitism again is on the rise.

To remain strong, officials here say, the country needs more Jewish citizens. If birthrates continue at their current pace, by 2010 Jews will be outnumbered by Arabs in the lands controlled by the Israeli military, according to the latest projections. Surrounded by hostile, much larger Arab countries, the country sees the immigration of foreign-born Jews as a strategic necessity. The Sharon government has set a target of 1 million new immigrants by 2010.

But the pool of Jewish families from the former Soviet Union, Israel's largest source of immigrants in the 1990s, is largely tapped out. To grow further, Israel must turn to Jewish communities in Europe and North and South Americas.

Grants help relocation

Last year, 1,243 American Jews immigrated to Israel, but the numbers have dropped steadily since 1995, when about 2,500 immigrated.

Fass said Tuesday that the group already has 2,000 confirmed olim for next year's flights.

The flight was the brainchild of Fass, 29, who co-founded Nefesh with Tony Gelbart, a Boca businessman. After hearing many young parents expressing an interest in making aliyah, only to be held back by financial concerns, Fass proposed offering grants to help ease the transition.